As Long As It Takes
by sariahsue
Summary: Cat Noir has been hit by an akuma. AGAIN. But this time he really doesn't mind, because this time, getting hit means you find out who your soulmate is.


_This is my Secret Santa for Miraculousengineerd! I hope you like it!_

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Cat Noir watched in amusement as the love of his life became more and more frustrated. It was very funny to watch.

"Why is it ALWAYS love akumas?!" Her yoyo whizzed through the air, but she was so angry that she missed. The akuma, a woman with puffy pink hair and wings and an equally puffy and pink dress, spouted something about finding true love and flew off again. She shot jets of light at screaming civilians as she went, though so far, no one had gotten hurt. The heroes weren't sure what the light did yet. The victims always stopped screaming when they realized nothing was actually wrong, and had all walked off looking merely confused.

"We've only fought probably three of them before this one, My Lady."

Ladybug grumbled, but she followed him as he vaulted above the streets of Paris.

When they rounded the next corner, Amour, as the akuma was calling herself, had cornered an unsuspecting couple who'd been sitting on a bench. They clutched at each other, half fearful, half annoyed at having their date interrupted.

"Now we'll see if you two are truly meant to be!" the akuma said. With an overly-dramatic wave of her hands (even in Cat Noir's opinion she was overly-dramatic, which was saying something), she shot out a jet of pink light. The two heroes bounded closer. Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around the woman's middle and yanked. It was too little too late. The light hit its target, and Cat Noir was finally close enough to see who the victims were: Alya and Nino.

Ladybug had seen who they were too, and she rushed over to help them, while Amour kicked away the yoyo string and made another escape.

"Are you two okay?" Ladybug asked. "What did she do to you?"

"I don't know," Alya said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started recording. "I don't feel any different."

Cat Noir was watching Nino, who was suddenly staring at Alya like he'd never seen her before. "You look different," Nino said, his eyes wide. "I mean, you look the same, but-" He waved his hands around her head. "There's lots of sparkles now."

"Guess you two are meant to be," Cat Noir said. "Isn't that what Amour said?" He couldn't help but grin at that. He'd known they were great for each other for months now.

Alya turned to her boyfriend and waved a hand dismissively, though Cat Noir could tell she was trying to hide a smile. "The sparkles are a bit over the top," she said. "It's not like I had any question about you anyway."

"Come on." Ladybug backed away from them and pulled at Cat Noir's arm. Clearly, the couple needed some alone time.

"This seems like a stupid idea for an akuma," Cat Noir said when they were back up in the air. Amour was hard to locate this time, but only because there wasn't the usual screaming and chaos to lead them to her. They dashed across rooftops and bounded over busy streets.

"Not really," Ladybug said, hooking her yoyo around a building. "If people find out that they're not soulmates or whatever with people that they're already in love with, there's going to be a lot of hurt feelings going around, and I'm not sure cleansing the akuma will erase that knowledge."

"So this is just a setup for future akumas. Better to catch her quickly, then. We should split up to cover more ground."

"Good idea." She dropped onto a shallowly sloping rooftop and opened up her yoyo. Cat Noir landed softly next to her. "I'll go north and check the news channels and see if anyone's reported anything. You go south and check the Ladyblog's comments?"

Her bangs hung over her eyes and brushed against her forehead as she stared down at her yoyo's screen. She looked so relaxed and collected, like she always did. He knew he shouldn't, but hoped he got hit with Amour's beam. He'd already made up his mind about who he wanted to be with. Was he right?

"Cat?" she asked, looking up, piercing blue eyes pinning him to the spot. "The south?"

"Oh, uh." He cleared his throat. "Right."

"South is to your left, Kitty."

"Left. Right- I mean, got it." He vaulted off before she noticed his blush.

He stopped several times to check the the blog comments and just listen for the sounds of screaming or sobbing, but there was nothing. Just as he was about to call Ladybug and ask her if she'd found anything yet, he heard a sizzle behind him. He turned just in time to get a faceful of warm, pink and white light. Up close, he could see sparkles in the shapes of little hearts mixed in. The woman laughed and flew away.

Cat Noir knew he should have been upset at getting hit by an akuma AGAIN, but his only thought was: Who knew Hawk Moth was such a sappy romantic at heart?

Well, he would be getting his wish after all. He pulled open his baton's communicator, keeping at eye on the woman. She was soaring high over the city, zapping citizens at random as they walked beneath her. Cat Noir could barely make out her distant cackling.

"I found her," he said when Ladybug picked up. Instantly, all his attention was on the screen. Who cared if he lost sight of the akuma? Was he right? What would he see?

But Ladybug was on the move, running across the rooftops toward him. All he could see of her was the red and black of her suit as she ran, open yoyo clutched in her fist at her side. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He couldn't even see her face. Was that why he didn't see any sparkles around her? Or was it because...

"Great," Ladybug said, puffing, unaware of his questions. "I'll be right over."

"Listen," he said. She had to know he'd been hit. No matter the answer, he was going to be distracted through the fight, and she had a right to know that. "When I found her-"

"Tell me when I get there," she said. The screen went black. Cat Noir stiffened with the abrupt goodbye. She was faster on the yoyo, and she couldn't talk to him while using it. It wasn't personal.

Amour was still floating above the buildings, so at least he hadn't lost her yet. She was barely more than a speck against the cloudless sky, so Cat Noir moved closer, making sure she didn't see him as he approached, hiding behind dormer windows and around corners

What would happen when Ladybug arrived? What would he see?

He didn't have to wonder for long. Ladybug dropped on the roof next to him a second later as he hid behind a wide chimney. Her face was pink from pushing herself so hard, but her eyes were bright and excited. And she was dazzling. A halo of sparkling lights danced around her face, glowing in her hair.

Well, how was that any different than normal, really? She always looked dazzling to him.

"Good work," she said to him, peeking around the chimney and spying their quarry.

"She-" Cat Noir could barely croak out the words. He'd been right this whole time! They were meant to be! "She's hit-"

Ladybug turned back to look at him, confused. "Are you okay? Look out!"

While they'd been distracted, Amour had found them. Cat Noir, still too dazed by his revelation and his amazing partner, didn't react in time. The blast wasn't meant for him anyway. Ladybug jumped away, but not fast enough. She covered her face. Amour swooped away, laughing loudly.

"Of course," Ladybug grumbled. Her words were a little muffled through her palms. "This complicates things."

"I don't know about that," Cat Noir said, leaning closer to her. "Now you'll just have to admit I was right all along. We're clearly meant to be."

Her hands dropped to her side, and she glared up at him. Well, glared with her eyes screwed tightly shut. "I'm not playing along with this akuma." She reached out and found his shoulder, then deliberately turned her body away from him, so she could open her eyes safely.

"You just don't want to prove me right," he said. "Deep down, you've always known I am."

"In your dreams!" she said. The yoyo sped her away.

Normally, that sort of comment would hurt. Funny, how things change. He took off after her.

"What's wrong, Bugaboo? Don't want to admit that you looooove me?"

"We need to focus, Cat Noir!"

"Oh, My Lady, you wound me! I thought you cared!" For the first time, his jokes weren't covering up a deep-seated insecurity. She did love him. She did care. She just hadn't realized it yet.

The fight that followed was a quick one. Amour didn't really have any offensive or defensive abilities. Her only strategy turned out to be evasion, which only lasted her so long. After Ladybug called for Lucky Charm (a giant glue stick taller than she was) and created a suitable trap (turning a billboard into a giant piece of flypaper), she still had four minutes left on her timer. He hadn't even needed to use his Cataclysm at all.

This was the moment, he knew. He'd beg her to open her eyes, tell her that he loved her, that she was his soulmate, and they could be together. She would see, and she would know it too. And she'd want to be together.

But Ladybug had other ideas.

An army of little ladybugs flew through the city, seeking out the people who'd been hit and fixing their vision. The sparkles disappeared from Cat Noir's vision, though Ladybug was too distracted by the magic circling her to realize that he'd needed to be healed of the akuma's influence too.

Humph. It figured. Still, it wasn't too late to confess what he saw. She'd still have to admit that they were meant to be together, even if he was the only one who'd actually seen the proof.

The ladybugs swirled away from them, and Ladybug finally looked at him, sadness and apology on her face. His confession never reached his mouth.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know you probably wanted to know about..." She waved her hand to the space in between them. He knew what she meant: Them.

"I just wanted you to know that... what you said wasn't true."

"We're not meant to be?" he asked. But they were! He knew they were. She was going to know it too, in just a minute. The rejection stung anyway.

"No! I mean- Not that. I... I do care about you."

"Yeah, I know." The sun shone brightly down on them, making Cat Noir's whole body warm up. Ladybug once again dazzled in the light's glow. It still wasn't too late. She cared about him. She would listen to him. He took a deep breath to prepare himself, but he stopped when she took a steadying breath of her own.

"I feel like I owe you an explanation," she said.

"About what?"

"Well..." She kicked a pebble and watched as it bounced away. "I could have looked and I didn't. I want-"

"What?" Flowers? A mansion? The moon? He'd give her anything she wanted at this point. He would too, right after he told her what he'd seen. They were going to be together! This was it!

"I want to make my own choice about this," she said. "Who I choose to be with, that's the most important decision I'm ever going to make. I want to know that it's mine. I don't want that taken away from me. And I don't want any options ruled out, just because of some akuma. That's why I didn't look at you."

Around them, Paris was coming back to life. People cautiously poked their heads out of doors and windows. Cars rumbled past them as they stood on the sidewalk and stared at each other.

Cat Noir had made his choice ages ago. The least he could do would be to give her the same freedom. Even if she didn't ever choose him.

"I know what it's like to have choices stolen from you," he finally said. She looked like she was about to complain about that, but he continued. "That shouldn't ever happen to you. But know this." He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I'll be here, waiting. For as long as I need to."

A blush rose to her cheeks. When she was too flustered to register that her miraculous had given another warning beep, or to even take her hand away from his, he pulled away with a smile.

"We should go," he said.

She nodded numbly, still staring at him, before she turned and jumped away.

Cat Noir watched her go. There was a very real chance she would pick someone else. She was so good, so confident, so kind. There was no way she didn't have guys lining up to go out with her. She'd have a lot of people to choose from. His silence could have cost him her heart today, but if the one thing she wanted was the freedom to decide, he wasn't going to take that away from her. How could he do anything less?

Besides, he told himself as he released his transformation, there was still a very real chance she would pick him after all. She said she didn't look because she didn't want to rule him out as an option. They were soulmates. He'd much rather help her figure that out on her own, no matter how long it took.


End file.
